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Nahrmahn II Baytz
Nahrmahn II of the House of Baytz was the Prince of Emerald at the end of the 9th Century of God. Physical appearance Nahrmahn II was a short and corpulent man with a round baby face. ( ) Biography He was born Nahrmahn Hanbyl Graim BaytzHis name seems to be a reference to Norman Bates, the protagonist of the classic slasher film Psycho.He speaks his full name when swearing his allegiance. "I, Nahrmahn Hanbyl Graim Baytz, do swear allegiance and fealty to Emperor Cayleb and Empress Sharleyan of Charis" ( ) in the Princedom of Emerald in the middle of the 9th Century of God. Nahrmahn was only the third monarch of his house to hold fealty over Emerald, and he was said to be keenly aware of the impermanent nature of power. This attitude, his own natural approach to rule, and regional politics put him at odds with Charis and more specifically King Haarahld VII. Charis's rise to power over the preceding decades had put Emerald's sovereignty under increasing pressure. Nahrmahn also coveted nearby territories under Charisian control such as Silverlode Island and Margaret's Land. In the Year of God 890, Nahrmahn engaged in a plot with Kahlvyn Ahrmahk, Duke of Tirian, to assassinate Crown Prince Cayleb of Charis. Nahrmahn had been in league with Tirian for some time before, and warily signed off on the plot, knowing that theirs was an alliance of convenience and that Tirian would likely betray him, just as he had his own family, once he had taken the Charisian throne. When Merlin Athrawes intervened and the plot failed, and Tirian was uncovered and killed shortly afterward, Emerald lost a spy network in the Kingdom that had taken decades to develop. Merlin's abilities also rendered Nahrmahn's spy masters unable to re-establish agents there. For this reason, Nahrmahn was unable to predict or plan for the circumstances that led to the Group of Four's plans to destroy Charis, using the combined navies of Charis's enemies. Also, the courier ship conveying notice of this plan to Emerald was lost at sea, and a replacement did not arrive for several months. The shock of being confronted suddenly with Temple marching orders mandating a full scale invasion of Charis greatly irritated him. He began to question if he had thrown his lot in with the wrong side. After the Emeraldian Navy, along with all other Temple-aligned forces, was defeated at the Battle of Darcos Sound, Nahrmahn was confronted with complete strategic disaster and expected to be quickly deposed, and likely executed, due to his previous attempt on now-Emperor Cayleb's life, and his role in the death of King Haarahld. To his considerable surprise and relief, Charis offered him generous terms of surrender, and even allowed him to remain as Prince of Emerald, while his daughter was betrothed to Cayleb's younger brother, the Crown Prince. ( ) After Emerald joined the Empire of Charis, he became a senior advisor to Emperor Cayleb, as Minister of Imperial Intelligence and senior spymaster of the Empire. Despite their former enmity, Cayleb found that Nahrmahn was a likeable man and extremely intelligent. Nahrmahn was directly involved in the later invasion and conquest of the League of Corisande, using his previous personal connection with the Grand Duke of Zebediah to advise Cayleb on how to deal with the notoriously mercenary nobleman. Nahrmahn, and his wife Ohlyvya, were admitted into the inner circle of those who knew the true history of mankind. He found himself equally interested in using his new access to Merlin's SNARCs and intelligence data, as well as Owl's mainframe, to explore ancient human history and literature, especially with regards to the works of Machiavelli. ( ) Injury and Death Nahrmahn II was mortally wounded in a Temple Loyalist bombing in summer of the Year of God 895, shielding his wife from the lethal blast. Merlin had not enough time to take him to Nimue's Cave, and could only ease his pain and give him a few more conscious moments with Ohlyvya before he died. His son succeeded him as Nahrmahn III. ( ) The second life of Nahrmahn Baytz Just prior to the Prince's death, Merlin created a copy of his memory and personality patterns, which he later uploaded into a virtual reality within the computer system of Nimue's Cave. There, "Prince Nahrmahn" spent a lot of time with Owl, and helped the artificial intelligence to become self aware; he also encouraged Owl to create a humanoid avatar within the virtual reality so he was easier to interact with. ( ) Family He had an uncle, Hanbyl Baytz. He was married to Ohlyvya Baytz; they had four children: *Mahrya Baytz, the oldest child, a princess of Charis through marriage. *Nahrmahn Gareyt Baytz, the second-oldest child, first-born son and successor. *Trahvys Baytz, the third-oldest child. *Felayz Baytz, the fourth and youngest child, a daughter. References Baytz, Nahrmahn II Baytz, Nahrmahn II Baytz, Nahrmahn II Baytz, Nahrmahn II